Chesham Grammar School

My son is at the school . A very good school academically but the pressure is relentless. He is very resilient and works hard but the focus is around academic excellence and in the pursuit of this, other areas can suffer such as feeling good enough and the impact of academic pressure on mental health. Some of the teachers go above and beyond and are truly outstanding, but others rely on the the fact that they are teaching a bright cohort and forget that even within a grammar school ability is mixed and they need to explain things more instead of piling on homework and tests which is not teaching. The senior leadership team are generally good but the Head is really quite removed and contact with her is minimal. She tends to delegate to her Assistant Heads who are effective but her involvement with individual pupils is very arms length compared with other heads who are on the gate most days ensuring they see with their own eyes what is going on. The trips and social aspects of the school is very disappointing compared with other schools. However nothing is perfect; if you send your child there provided he/ she is prepared to work, attainment is high , but the pressure is not for the faint hearted and getting grades 7-9 at GCSE is everything and getting a 5 or a 6 no matter how hard the child has worked, not good enough. Some children therefor end up feeling that they are failing even though in the grand scheme of things life is so much more than just academic attainment. There are pockets of bullying but in the main this is swiftly dealt with.

A very poor comparison to other local grammar schools, who focus on substance rather than polishing over the cracks. Pastoral staff are poorly equipped to deal with issues raised by students and a complete lack of leadership in the school makes the school rudderless and unable to improve without significant pressure. Staff appear to do their best but are poorly supported by senior staff and always have an excuse if things are not as they should be. Facilities are very poor a both inside and outdoors for pupils.

very very very very very very very poo

The teaching and resources are good, everything else that makes a school a school is far worse. We as students are under far too much pressure, constantly, far too much work is set, especially at around GCSE level. A couple teachers are famously harsh and even racist/sexist/abelist, with many students making jokes about a certain couple members of staff haven't been fired by now. The school does little to nothing about complaints made by students regarding things like sexual assault, as made evident by the recent student protest staged there. Remember to look at more than just grades when choosing a school. I'm predicted decent grades, but I have suffered a great amount for them as a result of the atmosphere at and expectations set by this school. There have been instances of transgender students being refused access to the correct bathrooms and changing rooms before they forced the school to review government policy.